At approximately 135,000 miles my automatic transmission began "slipping" or lurching while accelerating. I took the car to a Nissan dealership, as well as 2 local mechanics, and all 3 sources have told me that my transmission is having identical symptoms to the recalled Versa models that previously had transmission issues. I'm now forced to replace the transmission before it hopefully goes out completely (the CVT). The problem has been diagnosed and reproduced by 3 separate auto mechanic shops, including one Nissan dealership in Colerain, Ohio. There have been absolutely no warning lights, messages, or signals from the car. When I accelerate from a stop, the car lurches at about 20-25 MPH. When I'm driving on the highway at a steady, high speed, I don't have the issue.
Nissan Versa slipping problems
51 of the 3,329 owner complaints about the Nissan Versa describe transmission slipping, most of them for the 2012 model year.
- owner complaints
- 51
- worst model year
- 2012
- typical repair cost reported
- $4,000
- typical mileage
- 86,600
By model year
Often reported together
CVT failure 19Transmission failure 12Stalling 8Jerking 8Hesitation 5Shudder 4Check engine light 3Warning lights 2
Trouble codes mentioned
P0705 1
What owners say
The vehicle experienced a failure of the transmission/CVT transmission system and is available for inspection upon request. Prior to the failure, the vehicle began showing symptoms including hesitation while accelerating, jerking, slipping between gears, and delayed response when pressing the gas pedal beginning around February 2026. Warning indicators and abnormal driving behavior continued leading up to the complete failure. The issue placed my safety and the safety of others at risk because the vehicle unexpectedly lost power and struggled to accelerate in traffic, increasing the risk of a collision. The problem has been confirmed by a dealership/independent mechanic after inspection of the vehicle. The vehicle and transmission system have also been inspected by service professionals, and documentation of the diagnosis is available if needed.
I have a 2020 Nissan versa it only has 100,000 miles on it. That’s not really a lot since it had about 75000 miles on it. I noticed that the car started slightly jerking. I couldn’t figure out what was going wrong and neither could anybody else eventually at around 100,000 miles I took it into another mechanic and he found the problem. The transmission is slipping and it is completely ruined. The whole transaxle assembly needs to be replaced not only is this expensive but it’s also very dangerous sometimes when I try to move the car I put in gear I start to drive and it jerks so bad that it starts to stall when I contacted Nissan about this they refused to help with any Solution. The transmission costs anywhere from $8000-$12,000 for that price. I could buy a new 2020 Nissan versa.
The car has 56000 miles and the power train is still under warranty. The CVT belt recently started slipping. When I stop and then take off normally, there is a jitter in the transmission that can be felt and heard. Sometimes it is quite loud and vibrated quite heavily to the point there is concern it will break or fail. It also hesitates at times when accelerating from a stop or slow down and you can hear and feel the slippage before it kicks in. I took it to St Charles Nissan stating they test drove it and the jittering happened twice. The dealership says that Nissan told them this is normal ans all Nissans do this in Ludington new ones. Mine did not do this when it was new. My daughter has a new Nissn Versa and hers does not do this. The dealership says they can investigate further by re wording the anomaly and will charge me if Nissan says they won't cover it under warranty. Very distressing.
I have replaced the mass airflow sensor multiple times also transmission is starting to slipping,not responding correctly, when this starts all the lights on my dash come on and also does not accelerate or respond as it should very dissatisfied when they saw me would never recommend to buy another one
The transmission slips constantly. Car loses power. When they check the car they say nothing is wrong. CVT transmission
All the dash lights come on car acceleration will either speed up or slow down on its own the transmission slips shakes and stalls at red lights
Vehicle has 3000 miles on it - driving across country . Was driving on to on ramp to highway when vehicle stopped execeleraring. Would rev and rev. We were headed straight into a merge onto the highway and I told my husband to get off immediately.. we slowly got off the road to the side and kept trying . It would not go very fast but kept reving. We turned on and off . No warning lights on dash . Nothing . Tried again nothing called my son who works at a car dealership told us to turn off then remove key - did that and was able to get car to go back to normal. - we researched and transmission slipping is exactly what is described as what was happening. We are in a very dangerous situation . In the middle of nowhere 1000 miles from home. Bought this for my 16 year old son as a reliable car.. I can’t let him Drive this thing. Had we made it on the highway and this happened a minute later . Or my son Driving on the highway. This is unacceptable. Reading all the complaints and how long this has been an issue is sickening that I was able to purchase this car
This vehicle came with a 5-speed manual transmission. I am still learning how to drive a stick shift well, and on my way home from the dealer there were several instances of me stalling the engine due to letting the clutch out too fast. In several of these cases, when I restarted the engine, it acted almost as if it were in limp mode, or if the clutch was slipping badly.
2012 nissan versa commonly known for defective cvt transmissions I had taken it to costal nissan to get it looked at before for a jerking transmission and the dealership just adjust a brake light switch the problem came back and threw an engine code for input sensor after replacing all my bulbs the problem went away for a couple months but the past 2 months it started slipping jerking stuck in low gears high reving rpms I had the transmission fluid serviced or replaced and it worked good for about a week died in the middle of the road with no throttle response I've only driven this car 5k miles in 8 months of purchase vehicle is available for inspection at any time
Related recalls
Power train: manual transmission: shift pattern indicator
- What is wrong
- Nissan is recalling certain model year 2012 versa vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission and manufactured from june 9, 2011, through january 13, 2012 for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 114,theft protection. due to interference between the shifter rod and the shift knob, the vehicles may be shifted out of the park position without depressing the brake pedal.
- Risk
- The operator can inadvertently shift the vehicle into gear without the brake pedal being depressed, increasing the risk of a crash or injury to a nearby pedestrian.
- Remedy
- Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the shifter knob or the shifter assembly as needed, free of charge. The safety recall began on mearh 5, 2012. Owners may contact nissan at 1‑800‑647‑7261.
Recall number 12V032000 · Recall details
Questions about the Nissan Versa slipping
Which Nissan Versa years have transmission slipping problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2012 (13 complaints), 2014 (11 complaints) and 2013 (6 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix transmission slipping on the Nissan Versa?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $4,000 (median of 5 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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